RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- State officials are reminding North Carolina residents that hurricanes don't limit their damage to the coast and that even a smaller storm or one that doesn't make landfall can cause damage.

Gov. Pat McCrory discussed hurricane preparedness at a news conference Thursday with Kieran Shanahan, secretary of the state Department of Public Safety.

McCrory said hurricanes can track inland, as Frances and Ivan did in 2004, bringing heavy rain and causing deadly landslides in the mountains. Shanahan said residents should take all storms seriously, regardless of their size. He pointed to Hurricane Irene, which struck the North Carolina coast in 2011 as a Category 1, but caused some of the worst flooding that many counties near the coast had seen in nearly a century. The Atlantic hurricane season begins Saturday.

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Gov. Pat McCrory is set to talk about hurricane preparedness as North Carolina faces the 2013 Atlantic season.

McCrory is scheduled to hold a news conference Thursday to discuss preparing for hurricanes. Saturday marks the start of the hurricane season, which continues through Nov. 30.

Federal forecasters are calling for 13 to 20 named Atlantic storms, seven to 11 that strengthen into hurricanes and three to six that become major hurricanes. A normal year has 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major storms with winds over 110 mph.

Last year, Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast, although it wasn't a hurricane when it made landfall in New Jersey in October. Sandy caused damage in North Carolina, including closing N.C. Highway 12 along Hatteras Island. The road reopened in December.

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